Poker-based game and method for playing same

ABSTRACT

Multi-player board game includes a substrate defining eight receptacles, each receptacle being associated with a respective one of eight designations of winning hands of a traditional poker game, each receptacle being receivable of chips representing wagers by the players on their attaining the winning hands, a traditional deck of fifty-four playing cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers, and thirteen boards. Each board has a different representation of twenty-five different playing cards arranged in a 5×5 grid with the eight winning hands formed thereon, the winning hands including one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind. A ninth winning hand, a wild card, can also be provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a poker-based game and method for playing same, which is being called “POKERAMA”, and which is designed to promote understanding of the game of poker.

The present invention also relates to an Internet-based poker game, a computer program for managing an Internet-based poker game and a method for conducting an Internet-based poker game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Poker and poker-related card games are very popular, in particular in casinos. In standard poker games, in which a full 4-suit deck (52 cards), generally without the jokers, five-card hands in descending value are: royal flush (10 through ace of a single suit), straight flush (any other set of five sequential cards in a single suit), four of a kind, full house (3 cards of the same face value and 2 cards of the same but another face value), flush (any 5 cards in the same suit), straight. (5 sequential cards of any suit), three of a kind, two pairs, one pair and high card.

Bingo games are also very popular. In a typical bingo game, playing cards containing numbers are purchased by the players and numbers are randomly called out. When one of the numbers is present on the playing card, the player covers the number. One or more pre-determined configurations on the playing card are considered to be winning configurations. When the player has a winning configuration of covered numbers, they are entitled to a prize based thereon.

There are not believed to be any combinations of poker and bingo which present various configurations of playing cards for poker on playing cards for bingo whereby a player must cover one of the pre-determining winning configurations (which are winning poker hands) to win a prize.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0252493 (Tribout, Jr.) describes a method of playing a game of chance which includes displaying a bingo matrix that includes each number available for random selection in a bingo game and randomly selecting bingo numbers for use in the bingo game. The bingo matrix is populated with a playing card randomly selected from a deck of cards, wherein the specific number to be populated in the matrix is populated based on the bingo number previously selected and awarding a first prize to a player based on a determination that a pre-determined winning bingo criteria has been satisfied. The bingo matrix is evaluated to determine if a second prize should be awarded based on the bingo numbers used in satisfying the winning bingo criteria and awarding a second prize to the player if pre-determined winning poker criteria has been satisfied. However, the bingo matrix does not have pre-existing configurations of playing cards from the deck.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a new and improved poker-based game and method for playing it.

It is another object of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a new and improved poker-based game which is designed to promote understanding of the game of poker.

It is yet another object of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a new and improved Internet-based poker game.

It is still another object of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a new and improved a computer program for managing an Internet-based poker game.

It is still another object of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for conducting an Internet-based poker game.

In order to achieve one or more of these objects and others, a multi-player board game in accordance with the invention includes a substrate defining eight receptacles, each receptacle being associated with a respective one of eight designations of winning hands of a traditional poker game, each receptacle being receivable of chips representing wagers by the players on their attaining the winning hands, a traditional deck of fifty-four playing cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers, and thirteen boards. Each board has a different representation of twenty-five different playing cards arranged in a 5×5 grid with the eight winning hands formed thereon, the winning hands including one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind.

Preferably, the representations are arranged such that each playing card is part of at least one winning hand and no set of playing cards forms more than one winning hand in its entirety. Also, the representations may be arranged on the boards such that each row of playing cards contains at least one winning hand and/or such that the winning hand or one pair is not encompassed within the winning hand of two pair or the winning hand of three of a kind.

In one embodiment, the substrate defines a ninth receptacle and includes a designation of a wild card associated with the ninth receptacle. Each board then includes a wild card character on one of the representations of a playing card thereon, with the wild card being an additional winning hand.

An exemplifying method for playing the game includes selling or otherwise providing the boards to the players, placing monetary value chips into the receptacles for example based on the sale of the boards, and drawing one of the playing cards at a time from a draw pile of the playing cards. As each playing card is drawn, the representations of the drawn playing cards are marked by the players on the boards, for example by placing a chip on the representation of the drawn card. Thereafter, if a player is the first to have a winning hand, i.e., all of the playing cards of a winning hand on that player's board have been drawn, that player is given the chips in the respective receptacle corresponding to the winning hand.

Using a chart of all of the suit cards, and optionally the jokers, it is possible to verify that a player has a winning hand by marking drawn suit cards on the chart.

Optionally, the method allows for placement of bets on whether a player will have a winning hand prior to any other player and then restricts payout for winning hands subject to such bets only to players making and accepting such bets.

Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed by the claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a tray used in the game in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a tray used in the game in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the tray shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a third embodiment of a tray used in the game in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the template of different poker hands for the game in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a top view of an exemplifying board created using the template shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a chart showing all playing which enables keeping track of which playing cards have been called in a game in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a substrate or tray for a board game in accordance with the invention which is designated generally as 10. Tray 10 is adapted to securely rest on a horizontal surface and has an upper surface 12 defining nine slots 14 along its periphery. The slots 14 are designed to receive chips, tokens or coins during play of the game.

On the peripheral surface 16 of the tray 10 alongside each slot 14 is a designation or indication 18 of a winning hand, e.g., formed on a circumferential edge of the tray 10. The designations 18 can also be formed on the upper surface 12 of the tray 10. As described more fully below in the discussion of play of the game, a player with a particular winning hand would receive the chips, tokens or coins in the slot 14 associated with the winning hand set forth on the corresponding designation 18 of that hand.

Tray 10 may be formed from extruded or molded plastic. It may have a unitary, integral and/or monolithic construction or be formed from separate pieces and assemble together. Tray 10 may be circular as shown or may have a different shape, such as rectangular. Many other constructions of tray 10 are envisioned and the construction described above, and those set forth below, are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a tray for a board game in accordance with the invention which is designated generally as 20. Tray 20 includes a base 22 adapted to securely rest on a horizontal surface and a rotatable turntable 24 rotatably coupled to the base 22. The base 22 can include a spinning axle about which the turntable 24 rotates. The structure of the base 22 and turntable 24 to provide rotation of the turntable 24 relative to the stationary base 22 can vary from that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Turntable 24 has an upper surface 26 defining nine slots 28 along its periphery. The slots 28 are designed to receive chips, tokens or coins during play of the game.

Alongside each slot 28 is a designation or indication 30 of a winning hand, e.g., formed on an edge of the turntable 24 defining the slot 28. The designation 30 can also be formed on the upper surface 26 of the base as shown in FIG. 3. As described more fully below in the discussion of play of the game, a player with a particular winning hand would receive the chips, tokens or coins in the slot 28 associated with the winning hand set forth on the corresponding designation 30.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of another embodiment of a tray in accordance with the invention which is designated generally as 32. Tray 32 includes a base 34 adapted to securely rest on a horizontal surface and a rotatable turntable 36 rotatably coupled to the base 34 (see FIG. 5). The base 34 can include a spinning axle about which the turntable 36 rotates. The structure of the base 34 and turntable 36 to provide rotation of the turntable 36 relative to the stationary base 34 can vary from that shown in FIG. 4.

Turntable 36 has an upper surface 38 defining nine receptacles 40, eight around the periphery and one in the middle (see FIG. 4). Turntable 36 includes nine cups 42 each arranged in a respective receptacle 40. The cups 42 are designed to receive chips, tokens or coins during play of the game and if so desired, the game can be played without the cups 42 with the chips, tokens, or coins being placed into the receptacles 40.

Alongside each receptacle 40 is a designation of a winning hand which is visible when the cups 42 are placed therein. When playing the game as described above, a player with a particular winning hand would receive the chips, tokens or coins in the cup 42 in the receptacle 40 associated with that winning hand.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the game includes thirteen different boards, an exemplifying one of which is shown in FIG. 7. Each board 44 has a particular arrangement of cards 46 from a standard 52 card deck with additional Joker cards, with the cards being arranged thereon according to template 48 shown in FIG. 6.

There are 25 different cards 46 on each board 44 arranged in a 5×5 grid, specifically pictures or other representations of the cards 46 of the deck are arranged on the board 44. The pictures of the cards 46 can be spaced apart or in contact with one another. Template 48 shows a combination of the eight winning hands in traditional Poker: one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind (a POKERAMA™). An additional winning hand is a wild card which is situated in the center of the board 44, designated by a circled W.

As shown in FIG. 6, template 48 has the royal and straight flush on the first row, three of a kind in the middle of the second row (2^(nd)-4^(th) columns), two pair in the third row (2^(nd)-5^(th) columns), a flush in the fourth row and a full house in the fifth row wherein the three of a kind of the full house precedes the pair in the full house so that one pair is also defined in the fifth row (4^(th) and 5^(th) columns). The POKERAMA™ is in the first column (1^(st)-4^(th) rows) and the straight is in the fifth column. The wild card is in the center of the template 48 and is used to orient the boards 44 in the proper orientation.

As shown in FIG. 7, cards 46 are arranged to provide for this particular arrangement of winning hands with some cards being used in multiple winning hands. For example, the eight of spaces is part of the two pair winning hand and the straight winning hand. The name of the winning hands may be superimposed on the winning hands to aid the player in determining when they have a winning hand.

There are thirteen different boards 44 in view of the fact that the POKERAMA™, i.e., the four of a kind, does not repeat on any two cards. Thus, each board 44 has a different four of a kind hand, from A through K, and hence the maximum number of cards is thirteen. Moreover, the cards 46 are preferably arranged so that other winning hands are not repeated on any two boards 44.

The template 48 shown in FIG. 6 is not intended to limit the arrangement of the eight winning (Poker) hands listed above and other arrangements of cards 46 to provide for the same winning hands can also be used in the invention. Moreover, although the presence of all nine winning hands is shown (the eight Poker hands and the wild card), it is of course possible to create a board with less than all nine winning hands. For example, the wild card winning hand could be dispensed with. Alternatively, it might be desired to have additional winning hands, e.g., an additional wild card which can be provided by placing the wild card designation (circle W) on more than one card 46. Thus, any number and various combinations of winning hands can be used in the invention. One slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 is provided for each winning hand or type of winning hand if there are more than one winning hand of each type, e.g., multiple wild card winning hands. As such, if less than nine winning hands or types of winning hands are present, fewer than the nine slots 14, 28 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and fewer than the nine receptacles 40 shown in FIG. 4 would be used.

The game would be sold in a conventional box including a tray 10, 20, 32 or other similar component including nine receptacles or nine designated areas for placement of chips, tokens or coins, thirteen boards 44A-44M, the template 48, an instruction sheet describing how to set up and play the game, and preferably a traditional or standard deck of fifty-four playing cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers (not shown) and chips (also not shown) sufficient to enable the game to be played by up to 13 players or teams, which is the maximum number of players or teams that can play the game. The chips would preferably be of two or more types or colors, one type for use as playing chips to be placed into the slots 14, 28 or receptacles 40 and representing, e.g., money, and the other type for use in marking the cards called by the dealer on the boards 44A-44M. Thus, the playing chips may be red, green and blue, each representing a different denominations, e.g., red being 25 cents, green being 50 cents and blue being 1 dollar, while the marking chips are black. Alternatively, the playing chips may be red-yellow, red-orange, red-blue and red-black, each representing a different denominations, e.g., red-yellow being twenty-five cents, red-orange being fifty cents, red-blue being one dollar and red-black being five dollars, while the marking chips are red. Obviously, other color schemes and combinations are possible without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention.

The box preferably would have the name of the game “POKERAMA™” in large or easy to read print and designs on the top and side panels. The designs may be the same designs as on the rear of the cards. The bottom panel of the box may contain instructions if a separate instruction sheet is not otherwise provided.

Various ways are envisioned to play the game. One non-limiting way would be for each player to purchase a board 44, or even multiple boards if so desired. The money collected from each player is divided equally and placed into the slots 14, 28 or receptacles 40. The players determine one player (or even a non-player) to become the dealer. This may be achieved by each player selecting one card and the player who picks the highest or lowest card becomes the dealer, or the youngest or oldest player becomes the dealer. The deck of cards is shuffled and the cards are turned over and called out one by one, and then placed into a discard pile which can be used to verify the presence of winning hands (in addition to the chart 50 discussed below).

As the dealer calls out the cards, each player looks at the cards 46 on their board 44 and puts a chip on the card 46 called by the dealer if they have it. Instead of putting a chip on the card 46, they may mark the playing card 46 on the playing board 44 in other manners, including simply dotting the card with a marker.

Optionally, the game includes a chart 50 shown in FIG. 8 which has representations of all of the playing cards set forth thereon. As a playing card 46 is called, the dealer places a chip or other marker on the presentation of the playing card in order to keep track of which playing cards have been called. The chip or marker placed on chart 50 may be a different color and/or shape than the chips being used as bets which are placed into the slots 14; 28 or receptacles 40. The chart 50 can then be used to verify that all of the playing cards in a player's winning hand have been called.

Play proceeds until a player calls out that they have a winning hand (which must follow the guidelines on the template 48, i.e., two of a kind must be those cards 46 in the bottom right of the board 44 and not, for example, the two of the cards forming the three of a kind on the second row). When this occurs, the player with the winning hand receives the chips in the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 designated with the winning hand that they have. In view of the arrangement of the cards 46 on the different boards 44, it is unlikely if not impossible that any two players will have the same winning hand. However, two or more players can have different winning hands when the dealer calls out a single card. Thus, each player would receive the chips in the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 designated with their winning hand.

In one version of the game, once a player has a POKERAMA™, i.e., four of a kind, he or she receives the chips in the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 designated POKERAMA™ and play is over. The chips remaining in the slot(s) 14, 28 or receptacles 40 can be used for the next round of the game (when each participating player would need to purchase the board again). Since for the next round of the game, additional chips would be placed into all of the slots 14, 28 or receptacles 40, the residual from the previous round would increase the number of chips in some slots resulting in an increased payout.

In another version of the game, play continues until the players have all of the winning hands and thereby empty the slots 14, 28 or receptacles 40. In a multi-round game, the last round would also continue until the players have all of the winning hands.

A variation of the basic game allows players to bet during the game as to whether they think they will get a winning hand before the other players. Thus, one player can declare that they think they will have one pair before the other players in which case, any player accepting the bet puts money into the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 designated with that winning hand. If a player does not participate in the bet, then even if they have the winning hand associated with the bet, they cannot win the chips in the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40 designated with that winning hand. Thus, only a player who has accepted the bet and placed chips into the slot 14, 28 or receptacle 40, and the player making the bet, can win the chips in that slot, 14 28 or receptacle 40.

The game ends when the players decide that the current round will be the last and the game is over when all winning hands are obtained and the slots 14, 28 or receptacles 40 associated therewith are emptied.

The game described above can also be played over the Internet or via other electronic means. In an Internet-based game, an operator would create a website which would sell playing boards to players, present each player's playing board to them on a screen visible to each player, and manage the game. Specifically, the web site would be designed to electronically shuffle a deck of playing cards, draw one card at a time, mark the playing boards when each number has been drawn (or allow each player to mark their own playing board), determine when a player has a winning hand and then notify the other players that one of the players has a winning hand. Each player could interface with the website using the Internet and arrange for payment for each playing board they want, e.g., using any conventional Internet payment mechanism. The website could operate multiple games simultaneously, each having up to thirteen boards which may be purchased by thirteen players, or fewer players if one or more players wants to purchase multiple boards. The operator could make money by taking a portion of the purchase price for each board, i.e., electronically placing into pots for the winning hands a specific percentage less than the cumulative purchase prices for the boards.

The players could be presented with views of the other players' boards, if so desired, or only their own playing board or boards. The players could also be provided with an opportunity to select one or more of the playing boards to play with. The players could also be presented with an opportunity to bet different amounts of money into each pot for each designated hand, and also with an opportunity to place additional wagers on outcomes of the game. These bets or wagers can be displayed along with any odds. Cumulative jackpots, if any, could also be displayed to the players and used to advertise the availability of the game on the Internet.

A computer program which runs the website would be embodied in computer-readable medium. In the context of this document, computer-readable medium could be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in connection with the method for playing the game described herein. The computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to (not an exhaustive list), electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semi-conductor propagation medium. The medium can also be (not an exhaustive list) an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable, programmable, read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disk read-only memory (CDROM). The medium can also be paper or other suitable medium upon which a program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for example, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. Also, a computer program or data may be transferred to another computer-readable medium by any suitable process such as by scanning the computer-readable medium.

A computer program for playing the game described above may be capable of displaying on each player's communications device, such as a computer, PDA, mobile telephone and the like, one of thirteen boards, each boards having a different representation of twenty-five different playing cards of a traditional deck of fifty-four cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers and which are arranged in a 5×5 grid with eight winning hands of a traditional poker game formed thereon, the winning hands including one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind, the representations being arranged such that each playing card is part of at least one winning hand and no set of playing cards forms more than one winning hand in its entirety. The computer program also is capable of displaying on each player's device an indication of a monetary value for each winning hand, electronically drawing one of the playing cards at a time from a draw pile of the playing cards, electronically marking the representations of the drawn playing cards on the displays of the boards, and determining an amount to be paid to each player when they are the first to have marked representations on their board corresponding to the winning hand. The amount possessed by each player during play of the game, including after having a winning hand, is displayed to the player.

The computer program is further capable of coordinating sale of the boards to the players and can determine the monetary value being displayed to the player's devices based on the sale of the boards. The computer program can also arranging the representations on the boards such that each row of playing cards contains at least one winning hand and such that one pair is not encompassed within two pair or three of a kind.

Communications can be sent using the computer program to the players' devices to cause the players' devices to display on at least one of the representations on each player's board a wild card, which is considering as one of the winning hands. An indication of the monetary value for this winning hand would also be displayed to the players.

The computer program can be provided with different playing options as described above, including to stop the game when a player has the winning hand of four of a kind and maintain the monetary value of a previous game for a subsequent game when all of the winning hands of the previous game have not been provided to the players of the previous game. The computer program may also be capable of allowing placement of bets on whether a player will have a winning hand prior to any other player and restricting payout for winning hands subject to such bets only to players making and accepting such bets.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This patent applications, and especially the drawings, contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of this patent specification or related materials from associated patent office files for the purposes of review, but otherwise reserves all copyright whatsoever. 

1. A multi-player board game, comprising: a substrate defining eight receptacles, each of said receptacles being associated with a respective one of eight designations of winning hands of a traditional poker game, each of said receptacles being receivable of chips representing wagers by the players on their attaining the winning hands; a traditional deck of fifty-four playing cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers; and thirteen boards, each of said boards having a different representation of twenty-five different playing cards arranged in a 5×5 grid with the eight winning hands formed thereon, the winning hands including one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind, the representations being arranged such that each playing card is part of at least one winning hand and no set of playing cards forms more than one winning hand in its entirety.
 2. The game of claim 1, wherein said representations are arranged on said boards such that each row of playing cards contains at least one winning hand.
 3. The game of claim 1, wherein said representations are arranged on said boards and such that one pair is not encompassed within two pair or three of a kind.
 4. The game of claim 1, wherein said substrate defines a ninth receptacle and includes a designation of a wild card associated with said ninth receptacle, each of said boards including a wild card character on one of said representations of a playing card thereon.
 5. The game of claim 1, wherein said substrate has an upper surface and a peripheral surface extending downward from said upper surface, said receptacles being formed in said upper surface, said designations being arranged on said peripheral surface.
 6. The game of claim 1, wherein said substrate comprises a base and a turntable rotatably coupled to said base, said turntable having an upper surface and a peripheral surface extending downward from said upper surface, said receptacles being formed in said upper surface, said designations being arranged on said peripheral surface.
 7. The game of claim 6, further comprising cups removably arranged in each of said receptacles.
 8. A method for playing the game of claim 1, comprising: selling said boards to the players; placing monetary value chips into said receptacles based on the sale of said boards; drawing one of said playing cards at a time from a draw pile of said playing cards; marking the representations of the drawn playing cards on said boards; and giving each player the chips in a respective one of said receptacles when they are the first to have marked representations on their board corresponding to the winning hand associated with said receptacle.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of placing monetary value chips into said receptacles comprises dividing the money collected from the sale of the boards equally and placing chips corresponding to the divided monetary value into each of said receptacles.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising verifying that a player has a winning hand by marking drawn suit cards on a chart of all of the suit cards.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of marking the representations of the drawn playing cards on said boards comprises placing a chip on each of the representations.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising stopping the game when a player has the winning hand of four of a kind.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising keeping the chips in said receptacles after the game has stopped for use in a subsequent game.
 14. The method of claim 8, further comprising: allowing placement of bets on whether a player will have a winning hand prior to any other player; and restricting payout for winning hands subject to such bets only to players making and accepting such bets.
 15. A method for playing a game using a communications network to connect multiple players' devices, comprising: displaying on each player's device one of thirteen boards, each boards having a different representation of twenty-five different playing cards of a traditional deck of fifty-four cards including fifty-two suit cards and two jokers and which are arranged in a 5×5 grid with eight winning hands of a traditional poker game formed thereon, the winning hands including one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house, a flush, a royal and straight flush and four of a kind, the representations being arranged such that each playing card is part of at least one winning hand and no set of playing cards forms more than one winning hand in its entirety; displaying on each player's device an indication of a monetary value for each winning hand; electronically drawing one of the playing cards at a time from a draw pile of the playing cards; electronically marking the representations of the drawn playing cards on the displays of the boards; determining an amount to be paid to each player when they are the first to have marked representations on their board corresponding to the winning hand; and displaying the amount possessed by each player during play of the game.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: selling the boards to the players; and determining the monetary value being displayed to the player's devices based on the sale of the boards.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising arranging the representations on the boards such that each row of playing cards contains at least one winning hand and such that one pair is not encompassed within two pair or three of a kind.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: displaying on at least one of the representations on each player's board a wild card; and considering the wild card as one of the winning hands.
 19. The method of claim 15, further comprising: stopping the game when a player has the winning hand of four of a kind; and maintaining the monetary value of a previous game for a subsequent game when all of the winning hands of the previous game have not been provided to the players of the previous game.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising: allowing placement of bets on whether a player will have a winning hand prior to any other player; and restricting payout for winning hands subject to such bets only to players making and accepting such bets. 